Reviews of Acqua di Giò Essenza

I was looking forward to it as I heard it's better than the original, but was a bit disappointed. It smells nothing like the original to me and after a while when the base notes kick in, it's kinda boring scent "like any other".

It is certain that being among the first to explore an olfactory trend is a risky thing - especially because what we imagine might fall in public taste may be something very innovative at the time it was released. However, if the bet is right you gain the advantage of working in new lands and develop something that will become the model to be followed/ copied. It happened with the scent Acqua di Giò, which although was not the first aquatic fragrance was one that explored the trend early on hit very well the combination of aquatic freshness with a fruity fresh touch and a transparent musky base, a lightness that had a satisfactory performance for the genre and a lot of consistency from the beginning to the end.

After 16 years of success of what become one of the pillars of the aquatic family, the eau de parfum version comes at a time where the masculine market is not only less prejudiced with eau concentrations parfum, previously seen as feminine, but also demanding perfumes that have better duration and projection, thus able to stand out more. There is not much to reinvent or change in the aquatic trend and Essenza is not because of that a paradigm shift or a radical change from the original. Instead it is, as proposed by the brand, a refined and deeper version of the original, lowering the acquatic aspect but without doing it in order to compromise the original identity.

As a long lasting version, Acqua di Giò Essenza decreases the focus on water and fruity aspect of the output to put more emphasis in conveying the oceanic freshness in a mineral and slightly woody base of good duration. Thus, it opens with the aquatic and fruity departure from the original, less evident in the marine and metallic aroma. As it evolves one perceives another fresh aromatic chord, slightly floral, that gradually leads to the aforementioned mineral and woody base. Sometimes you can see flashes after all the evolution of the aquatic aroma of the opening in contact with the mineral aroma of the base, passing a very serene and refreshing feeling.

Essenza shown even without any surprises to be an acquatic more mature and better worked from beginning to end, with a good technical performance of sillage and longevity, which makes it an excellent candidate for daily use or even as a night perfume, with a good performance for summer nights or hot and stuffy night environments.

For a long time, I've noticed a heavenly waft of a gentleman's cologne when I've been out and about. For the love of mother's milk I couldn't figure out what in the world it was. I've though, analyzed, tested, tried, and made failed purchases. The sillage I'd catch smells of an amazing green, musky undertone with very light spice that was articulate and not muddy. The composition seemed lively. I've even tried to follow the gentleman around the store for a minute to give me more time to analyze and figure out what it was. Even thought of asking but wasn't sure it was radiating from that specific person.

Well long story short, that fragrance was sitting in my armoire all along. I analyzed all the components and narrowed it down to a possible two. I knew with the frequency I have encountered this it couldn't be some obscure niche and must come from the department stores. I also crossed all my failed attempts off the list and before I knew it, I have arrived that it was indeed Essenza. I hadn't worn it in a while and so I pulled it out to spray it in the air. Yes!! I got the same citrus, musky green undertone with light spice. Amazing!!

It's all in the bottle. The original was foggy though piercing if you overspray (which too many people did). This bottle is clear and the jewelry shiny rather than matte. The jus is the same. Brighter than the original.

I like these flankers better than the original. The Profumo in the dark bottle is the one to get though.

I used to really love the original, so when everyone said this one was even BETTER I blind bought a bottle of it. Big mistake...this scent was gross on me. I didn't mind a stronger woody base, but it had a weird smell that would come and go at times. A bit of a rotten egg like tang.....one of Mr. Morillas worst IMHO. Oh and the claim of better longevity than the original?! Not against my 2007 and 2008 bottles of ADG it wasn't!